VIDEO REPORTS

Homes belonging to Crimean Tatars who have made pilgrimage to Mecca have recently been subject to searches by authorities in Crimea, in an attempt, says lawyer Emil Kurbedinov, to accuse them of involvement in the terrorist organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir. (In Russian, Current Time TV)

Russia’s Federation Council ratified an agreement on October 12 to deploy indefinitely Russia’s airforce in Syria, granting members diplomatic immunity and duty-free import of military hardware to Syrian territory. (In Russian, Current Time TV)

RFE/RL’s investigative TV program “Schemes” reports that private residential construction on the banks of Ukraine’s Dniepr river continues, in most cases illegally, expropriating public lands and blocking public access to the water. The investigation revealed that documents delineating boundaries and permissible construction zones have disappeared from the Kyiv city council archives. (In Ukrainian)

The ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party garnered a majority in Georgia's October 8 parliamentary elections, but with runoffs planned in 50 single-mandate constituencies, the opposition United National Movement is weighing its options.

In a discussion with RFE/RL about the 2015 slaying of Boris Nemtsov, Russian political commentator Andrey Piontkovsky, who produced a film about the murder, said the FSB and security services generally disapproved of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “Kadyrov project,” and used the murder to challenge Kadyrov’s influence and discredit Putin. (Over 30K views on Russian Service website)